Cycling: Sergent inks new deal

Jesse Sergent enjoyed a strong debut year for RadioShack in 2011. Photo / Getty Images

Spanish surroundings were good to Jesse Sergent this season and the Manawatu cyclist has re-signed with Team RadioShack for another two years.

The "stagiaire" rider, who is based in Girona in Northern Spain during the road season, enjoyed a strong debut year for RadioShack in 2011, including winning the Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen event in Belgium.

Prior to joining RadioShack, Sergent rode for their junior side Team Livestrong and the 23-year-old said he was pleased to put pen to paper on another deal with RadioShack.

"It's just nice to know I have two years set in stone with the team," he said.

"It's something I've been thinking about for a while. I really enjoyed the year with the team and got along with everyone so I'm looking forward to hopefully a long future with them."

Sergent will ride the team and individual pursuit as well as the points race at the Oceania Track Cycling Championships in Invercargill this week.

Following the Oceania event he will head to Colombia for a World Cup meeting with the New Zealand pursuit team and then on to Spain where he has a 10-day training camp with Team RadioShack.

Despite rumours of him being a starter in the Giro d'Italia next season - one of the three grand tours in professional cycling - he said nothing was confirmed.

"If I get the chance to race a big tour like that - and the Giro has been thrown around a few times here and there in conversations - it'd be awesome. But I know it's a step up."

He did confirm he will contest the Tour Down Under in Adelaide in January for the first time, which is the biggest event outside of Europe on the professional tour.

"It's about as close as you can get to racing at home as a pro, so I start the year with that."